Engagement
Goals The purpose of this document is to act as a lighthouse. The reasons communities exist are to bring players together in relationships and experiences they might not otherwise get in game - or to expand on those relationships shared in game. Below is a reminder of why engagement is important and what good engagement looks like executed. Despite all the technical jargon, the greatest take-away, if anything from this document, is that a community is only as strong as its members and at the core we’re here to have fun, make friends, and celebrate our love of League of Legends together. Importance of Engagement The number one shared experience of League of Legends is social based; we play this game because our friends play this game - or we make new ones along the way. Communities are a real-life extension of this experience and create more opportunities to bring players together. Communities where players can have fun, make friends, and belong, will build an awesome community. And that’s the core of it: community and relationships. Whether it be digging yourselves out of an early game blunder with your best mates next to you - or pairing up with your duo thousands of miles away to test the new Jarvan/Pantheon bottom lane - we play and celebrate games together. The adjustment to prioritizing social engagements in events establishes the expectation that Communities are about hanging out and fostering the camaraderie that unites us on and off the Rift. Kicking It Off the Right Way Making your Community easy to find and accessible are two different problems. The first is tackled through recognizable branding and can be supported by the banners, posters, logos etc. Things like personalized images and clear sign-up sheets make the initial barrier for participation clear. Accessibility is a bit more abstract: Imagine the anxiety, stress, and chaos of your initial weeks at University and the awkward social barrier of trying to make friends and find your place in the noise. A dedicated Team to help bridge that chaos and create an easy and welcoming hand can make all the difference from wanting to participate in a Community and finding the voice to do so. It’s so much easier to stay home and preserve the safety of playing in your own space instead of exposing yourself to an awkward situation. Connecting your Community to these Players is done through friendly, fun, and welcoming relationships to help ease past the initial discomfort of the unknown. ' ' Welcome Teams Organizing and solidifying Leadership positions in your local Community is the first step in building the foundation for a community, but now it’s about connecting those helpers/volunteers to your university player base. Welcome Teams are a great way to support different demographics of the Community: a player just joining the Community might have completely different needs than a player who regularly participates in activities. Creating and separating these Leadership roles can alleviate and spread responsibilities on the Community Team while also helping to ensure that all players get a welcoming experience. Executing on Engagement The primary goal of Engagement is to start a conversation and integrate the new faces into the Community culture. “Good Engagement” has two facets: listening and engaging. it’s the difference between promoting your Community versus learning about that Player to consider events or acknowledge what they would enjoy. '''Listen – Take the time to understand the needs of the members looking to sign up. Why are they looking for a Community? Competitive or casual? What are they hoping the Community will provide? Tournaments or fun games? Maybe both? How much of either? Engage – Acknowledge that you’ve heard what they’re looking for and then commit to seeing if you can meet their needs and expectations. Communities are only as strong the culture created by their members; having their opinions heard, considered, and executed helps create ownership and makes your community stronger. '''These steps help give a sense of control to the new member as they’re now informed on the Community and know what to expect. These exchanges should be friendly, authentic, and enlightening to help members make easy and educated choices. Ideally, appoint Community Members who understand how to listen and engage on your Welcome Team. Remember to get involved yourself, be apart of the community as much as you can. The more you get to know each member the more authentic your engagement will be. '''Tricks of the Trade These are, for all intents and purposes, “Ice-Breakers”. Below are only a few examples of events or games to help bring players together and start these conversations but ultimately you know your Community best and know what will best represent its experience. Be creative and – most importantly –have fun! Welcome Back BBQ: Sausage Sizzle is a way of life in Oceania and what better way to kick off the new year than by celebrating and including the whole Community in an event alongside recruitment? This means that new players can get experience with the old guard and help integrate everyone to the Community dynamic. And Sausage Sizzle. '''Barbecues can be a resource intensive endeavor for any Community size so it’s important to maximize their efforts when using them as an engagement tool. A large social event can be an immediate deterrent and chaotic to navigate for those new to the Community; try having clearly labeled tables for newcomers so they can have an easy goal post to reach. Staff these tables with food or activities to promote interaction with established Community members and have them overseen by someone from the Welcome Team ready to reach out and engage the new players. '''League of Legends Games: Not everyone has the space to set up a full blown LAN party, but League is what unites us and can still be themed as an inclusion event through party games like: Charades, Pictionary, and Trivia. Conversation Colors: At sign-up, new players can receive colored stickers or cards that identify their desired role in League of Legends - ADC, Support, Top, etc. Existing members are then given forms to fill out as they have conversations with new members. They can compete to acquire all five positions through conversation. The first group to acquire all five positions can receive a prize, but it’s about enticing the Leadership and Community Members to reach out. Opinion Preference: Likely needs a larger pool of participants, but approach a group of people and announce preference prompts - such as: Teemo, hellspawn or not? The groups will arrange on where they stand on Teemo - either the “Hellspawn”, “Not Hellspawn”, or “I don’t care” groups. Let the members discuss amongst themselves briefly before reorganizing to another topic: “ADC main’s over here! Support’s here!” B-I-N-G-O: Less about BINGO and more about seeking specific traits in your Community members. Attach a letter of BINGO to each position in League of Legends (Top, Jungle, MId, ADC, Support) and then have achievements within these columns that pertain to those roles. Then find someone who has accomplished that or is that: TOP (B) “Tryndamere main for an entire season.” “Takes Ignite instead of Teleport.” “Exclusive Split-Pusher.” “Team didn’t know you existed before 15 minutes.” “Plays Nasus.” “OG Singed.” “It’s the Jungler’s Fault.” JUNGLE (I) “Misses Smite.” “Master Yi Main.” “Farming Jungler.” “Camps Mid.” “Sets up Tent.” “Blue Buff Entitled.” “It’s always my fault.” ' ' MID (N) “Blue Buff Entitled.” “Doesn’t follow opposing mid laner.” “Dies 1v1 Solo.” “Lux only.” “Yasuo Main.” “It’s the Jungler’s Fault.” ' ' ADC (G) “Can’t Last Hit.” “Ezreal Main.” “Vayne Spotting.” “Flashes forward.” “Blames support when dead.” “It’s the Jungler’s Fault.” ' ' Support (O) “Auto-Fill Main.” “I’m actually a mid main.” “Instalock Lux.” “Blood Thirsty Support.” “Doesn’t build sightstone.” “It’s the Jungler’s Fault.”